Total nonfarm employment in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 3,093,300 in January 2019, up 83,800 or 2.8 percent, from one year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased 2.0 percent. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that among the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Houston ranked third in the number of jobs added over the year and tied for second with Dallas in the annual rate of job growth. (See chart 1 and table 1; the Technical Note at the end of this release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Industry employment

In the Houston metropolitan area, professional and business services added the largest number of jobs from January 2018 to January 2019, up 16,300. Job gains were widespread within the sector, but most notable in the administrative and support services industry which added 7,200 jobs, a 3.6-percent increase over the year. Houston’s professional and business services supersector employment rose 3.4 percent since January 2018, compared to the national increase of 2.6 percent. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Houston manufacturing added 13,300 jobs from January a year ago, the second-largest job gain among the supersectors. Local job gains were concentrated in durable goods manufacturing (+12,500). The 6.0-percent increase in manufacturing employment in Houston compared to 2.2 percent nationally. This marked the 18^th consecutive month of annual job growth in local manufacturing after 28 consecutive months of annual declines. This month also had the fastest local annual rate of gain since November 2012.

Trade, transportation, and utilities, Houston’s largest employer, added 11,100 jobs from January 2018 to January 2019. Two subsectors accounted for all the supersector growth as transportation, warehousing, and utilities added 8,900 jobs and wholesale trade added 6,300 jobs. In contrast, retail trade lost 4,100 jobs during the period. Over the year, local employment in the trade, transportation, and utilities supersector increased 1.8 percent, while nationally, employment rose 1.3 percent.

Houston’s education and health services supersector added 10,400 jobs from January a year ago. The health care and social assistance subsector added 8,800 jobs and educational services added 1,600 jobs. The education and health services supersector had a 2.7-percent rate of job growth in Houston, compared to 2.3 percent nationwide.

Three local sectors added between 8,500 and 7,000 jobs over the year. Construction added 8,500 jobs since January 2018. Each of the three reporting industries had job gains, with the largest in heavy and civil engineering, up 5,000 or 10.2 percent. Area employment in the construction supersector rose 4.0 percent, compared to the 5.1-percent gain for the nation. The government sector added 7,600 jobs in Houston over the year. Local government educational services accounted for the largest share, at 6,900 jobs. Government employment in Houston rose 1.9 percent, compared to the national increase of 0.6 percent. Leisure and hospitality employment in Houston rose by 7,000 since January 2018; the local 2.3-percent annual gain compared to a U.S. gain of 2.9 percent.

Three additional local sectors had annual job increases of between 4,000 and 2,700: other services (+4,000), mining and logging (+3,500), and financial activities (+2,700).

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in January 2019. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 6 areas exceeding the national increase of 2.0 percent. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (+3.1 percent), and Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (both at +2.8 percent) had the fastest rates of job growth. Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (+0.5 percent), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (+0.8 percent) and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (+1.0 percent) had the slowest rates of job growth. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

New York-Newark-Jersey City added the largest number of jobs over the year, 141,000, followed by Dallas (+100,100) and Houston (+83,800). Boston had the smallest employment gain over the year, 14,500, followed by Washington (+32,100) and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (+32,200). Annual job gains in the remaining six metropolitan areas ranged from 75,200 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to 47,500 in Los Angeles.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in six areas: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. Professional and business services added the most jobs in five areas: Dallas, Houston, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, and Washington. In the remaining area, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, the leisure and hospitality supersector added the largest number of jobs.

The information supersector recorded the largest employment loss in five areas: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles. Miami and San Francisco were the only metropolitan areas to record no loss in any supersector.

Metropolitan area employment data for February 2019 are scheduled to be released on Friday, March 22, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Persons are counted at their place of work rather than at their place of residence; those appearing on more than one payroll are counted on each payroll. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2017 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. CES State and Area employment data are produced using several estimation procedures. Where possible these data are produced using a "weighted link relative" estimation technique in which a ratio of current-month weighted employment to that of the previous-month weighted employment is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are then obtained by multiplying these ratios by the previous month's employment estimates. The weighted link relative technique is utilized for data series where the sample size meets certain statistical criteria.

For some employment series, the sample of establishments is very small or highly variable. In these cases, a model-based approach is used in estimation. These models use the direct sample estimates (described above), combined with forecasts of historical (benchmarked) data to decrease volatility in estimation. Two different models (Fay-Herriot Model and Small Domain Model) are used depending on the industry level being estimated. For more detailed information about each model, refer to the BLS Handbook of Methods.

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports that are submitted by employers who are covered under state unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The benchmark information is used to adjust the monthly estimates between the new benchmark and the preceding one and also to establish the level of employment for the new benchmark month. Thus, the benchmarking process establishes the level of employment, and the sample is used to measure the month-to-month changes in the level for the subsequent months.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, administrative data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling variability–that is, variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. Survey data also are subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys are subject to additional errors resulting from the specific estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. Measures of sampling error for the total private employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of sampling error for more detailed series at the area and division level are available upon request. Measures of sampling error for states down to the supersector level are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this release. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.pdf

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated April 10, 2018. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller Counties in Texas.

Additional information

More complete information on the technical procedures used to develop these estimates and additional data appear in Employment and Earnings, which is available online at www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm. Industry employment data for states and metropolitan areas from the Current Employment Statistics program are also available in the above mentioned news releases and from the Internet at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and Houston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Jan. 2018	Nov. 2018	Dec. 2018	Jan. 2019(p)	Jan. 2018 to Jan. 2019(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	145,428	151,375	151,203	148,306	2,878	2.0
Mining and logging	686	751	753	746	60	8.7
Construction	6,729	7,457	7,313	7,072	343	5.1
Manufacturing	12,468	12,783	12,815	12,741	273	2.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,339	28,387	28,512	27,705	366	1.3
Information	2,772	2,854	2,839	2,769	-3	-0.1
Financial activities	8,448	8,609	8,622	8,567	119	1.4
Professional and business services	20,328	21,444	21,345	20,853	525	2.6
Education and health services	23,262	24,089	24,092	23,801	539	2.3
Leisure and hospitality	15,437	16,182	16,213	15,880	443	2.9
Other services	5,734	5,859	5,859	5,811	77	1.3
Government	22,225	22,960	22,840	22,361	136	0.6
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	3,009.5	3,137.6	3,137.7	3,093.3	83.8	2.8
Mining and logging	77.1	81.3	81.0	80.6	3.5	4.5
Construction	209.9	226.8	222.9	218.4	8.5	4.0
Manufacturing	221.9	234.4	235.8	235.2	13.3	6.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	619.2	641.2	644.7	630.3	11.1	1.8
Information	31.7	31.7	31.8	31.1	-0.6	-1.9
Financial activities	161.7	164.3	164.1	164.4	2.7	1.7
Professional and business services	480.6	502.3	500.5	496.9	16.3	3.4
Education and health services	384.7	399.4	398.6	395.1	10.4	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	310.7	321.7	323.5	317.7	7.0	2.3
Other services	107.6	113.4	112.7	111.6	4.0	3.7
Government	404.4	421.1	422.1	412.0	7.6	1.9
(p) preliminary

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Jan. 2018	Nov. 2018	Dec. 2018	Jan. 2019(p)	Jan. 2018 to Jan. 2019(p)
					Net change	Percent change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,725.3	2,826.7	2,835.3	2,782.3	57.0	2.1
Mining and logging	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.6	-0.1	-5.9
Construction	119.1	128.3	129.9	128.8	9.7	8.1
Manufacturing	171.0	172.2	172.9	171.3	0.3	0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	594.1	617.0	620.3	607.1	13.0	2.2
Information	98.8	98.7	97.5	94.5	-4.3	-4.4
Financial activities	171.2	174.8	175.5	172.9	1.7	1.0
Professional and business services	508.5	538.4	539.3	518.6	10.1	2.0
Education and health services	346.0	360.4	361.2	358.3	12.3	3.6
Leisure and hospitality	284.0	298.7	301.3	297.8	13.8	4.9
Other services	97.2	97.4	96.8	94.3	-2.9	-3.0
Government	333.7	339.2	339.0	337.1	3.4	1.0
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,709.3	2,796.5	2,786.1	2,723.8	14.5	0.5
Mining, logging, and construction	107.6	119.2	115.4	110.5	2.9	2.7
Manufacturing	187.4	187.8	189.4	188.6	1.2	0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	426.9	433.4	435.9	424.6	-2.3	-0.5
Information	80.2	81.4	81.7	81.2	1.0	1.2
Financial activities	182.9	182.9	183.2	181.6	-1.3	-0.7
Professional and business services	483.1	507.1	502.2	488.9	5.8	1.2
Education and health services	569.4	593.2	590.0	579.5	10.1	1.8
Leisure and hospitality	261.1	266.3	263.6	253.9	-7.2	-2.8
Other services	101.6	103.0	103.3	102.1	0.5	0.5
Government	309.1	322.2	321.4	312.9	3.8	1.2
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,620.3	4,820.0	4,803.2	4,695.5	75.2	1.6
Mining and logging	1.3	1.6	1.5	1.4	0.1	7.7
Construction	156.7	184.7	172.9	161.5	4.8	3.1
Manufacturing	415.1	423.7	424.5	423.4	8.3	2.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	945.0	978.3	987.2	958.2	13.2	1.4
Information	77.4	75.9	76.2	75.2	-2.2	-2.8
Financial activities	305.9	314.1	313.8	313.1	7.2	2.4
Professional and business services	807.4	862.0	849.4	822.4	15.0	1.9
Education and health services	721.3	747.7	744.5	736.9	15.6	2.2
Leisure and hospitality	458.8	480.3	479.7	468.5	9.7	2.1
Other services	195.3	198.2	199.6	195.9	0.6	0.3
Government	536.1	553.5	553.9	539.0	2.9	0.5
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,603.4	3,749.7	3,759.2	3,703.5	100.1	2.8
Mining, logging, and construction	211.6	224.6	225.5	221.3	9.7	4.6
Manufacturing	272.6	282.7	284.0	278.9	6.3	2.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	775.2	813.1	816.4	793.4	18.2	2.3
Information	83.1	82.7	82.5	81.6	-1.5	-1.8
Financial activities	298.2	304.6	305.0	305.0	6.8	2.3
Professional and business services	598.1	625.4	622.4	617.2	19.1	3.2
Education and health services	443.7	454.7	457.9	457.4	13.7	3.1
Leisure and hospitality	368.5	387.4	393.7	384.6	16.1	4.4
Other services	119.1	125.4	124.0	122.0	2.9	2.4
Government	433.3	449.1	447.8	442.1	8.8	2.0
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	3,009.5	3,137.6	3,137.7	3,093.3	83.8	2.8
Mining and logging	77.1	81.3	81.0	80.6	3.5	4.5
Construction	209.9	226.8	222.9	218.4	8.5	4.0
Manufacturing	221.9	234.4	235.8	235.2	13.3	6.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	619.2	641.2	644.7	630.3	11.1	1.8
Information	31.7	31.7	31.8	31.1	-0.6	-1.9
Financial activities	161.7	164.3	164.1	164.4	2.7	1.7
Professional and business services	480.6	502.3	500.5	496.9	16.3	3.4
Education and health services	384.7	399.4	398.6	395.1	10.4	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	310.7	321.7	323.5	317.7	7.0	2.3
Other services	107.6	113.4	112.7	111.6	4.0	3.7
Government	404.4	421.1	422.1	412.0	7.6	1.9
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	6,086.7	6,247.2	6,251.0	6,134.2	47.5	0.8
Mining and logging	2.5	2.4	2.5	2.4	-0.1	-4.0
Construction	242.5	257.6	250.9	244.9	2.4	1.0
Manufacturing	502.5	501.5	502.7	500.8	-1.7	-0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,113.4	1,139.6	1,149.2	1,116.7	3.3	0.3
Information	245.9	250.4	248.7	240.3	-5.6	-2.3
Financial activities	340.8	342.1	342.8	337.9	-2.9	-0.9
Professional and business services	914.4	952.5	947.8	930.8	16.4	1.8
Education and health services	1,033.9	1,063.5	1,068.5	1,056.4	22.5	2.2
Leisure and hospitality	734.6	758.4	760.4	740.2	5.6	0.8
Other services	206.0	214.2	213.6	209.4	3.4	1.7
Government	750.2	765.0	763.9	754.4	4.2	0.6
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,651.4	2,735.0	2,740.7	2,710.5	59.1	2.2
Mining and logging	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.0	0.0
Construction	131.3	141.6	140.1	136.9	5.6	4.3
Manufacturing	88.0	92.0	91.7	90.3	2.3	2.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	606.5	625.4	630.1	615.7	9.2	1.5
Information	50.3	51.7	51.7	51.1	0.8	1.6
Financial activities	181.1	186.1	187.7	183.5	2.4	1.3
Professional and business services	436.5	454.6	455.9	455.5	19.0	4.4
Education and health services	394.9	407.7	408.5	406.5	11.6	2.9
Leisure and hospitality	326.3	332.6	333.3	330.7	4.4	1.3
Other services	122.0	124.5	124.5	124.1	2.1	1.7
Government	313.8	318.1	316.5	315.5	1.7	0.5
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,581.4	9,980.7	9,985.7	9,722.4	141.0	1.5
Mining, logging, and construction	380.7	417.5	412.6	399.8	19.1	5.0
Manufacturing	359.3	362.8	363.9	358.4	-0.9	-0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,742.1	1,787.3	1,802.0	1,746.5	4.4	0.3
Information	282.4	295.6	292.0	285.9	3.5	1.2
Financial activities	769.4	778.4	779.0	771.4	2.0	0.3
Professional and business services	1,520.5	1,597.3	1,582.7	1,533.7	13.2	0.9
Education and health services	1,932.7	2,043.5	2,056.5	2,012.4	79.7	4.1
Leisure and hospitality	879.8	921.4	920.3	885.7	5.9	0.7
Other services	415.8	428.8	431.2	425.1	9.3	2.2
Government	1,298.7	1,348.1	1,345.5	1,303.5	4.8	0.4
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,880.2	2,982.3	2,984.7	2,912.4	32.2	1.1
Mining, logging, and construction	108.8	122.1	121.2	117.3	8.5	7.8
Manufacturing	180.4	182.1	181.7	181.7	1.3	0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	520.6	535.7	539.7	520.3	-0.3	-0.1
Information	47.5	48.6	48.4	47.7	0.2	0.4
Financial activities	214.5	216.6	216.7	214.5	0.0	0.0
Professional and business services	459.9	471.6	470.1	454.2	-5.7	-1.2
Education and health services	642.4	670.8	671.1	658.7	16.3	2.5
Leisure and hospitality	254.9	267.9	269.5	261.2	6.3	2.5
Other services	118.6	121.8	121.6	120.8	2.2	1.9
Government	332.6	345.1	344.7	336.0	3.4	1.0
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,069.5	2,169.3	2,169.5	2,134.3	64.8	3.1
Mining and logging	3.4	3.7	3.8	3.7	0.3	8.8
Construction	117.8	129.9	130.6	130.1	12.3	10.4
Manufacturing	125.3	130.4	131.1	130.5	5.2	4.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	399.7	420.1	420.6	409.0	9.3	2.3
Information	38.6	38.9	39.1	38.8	0.2	0.5
Financial activities	190.5	193.5	193.9	192.4	1.9	1.0
Professional and business services	346.5	366.4	366.2	357.3	10.8	3.1
Education and health services	318.1	335.2	335.9	335.1	17.0	5.3
Leisure and hospitality	224.1	231.7	233.2	230.3	6.2	2.8
Other services	67.1	71.2	70.3	70.0	2.9	4.3
Government	238.4	248.3	244.8	237.1	-1.3	-0.5
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,385.4	2,479.2	2,490.3	2,447.7	62.3	2.6
Mining and logging	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	118.6	129.0	127.0	125.0	6.4	5.4
Manufacturing	142.1	144.0	144.8	142.3	0.2	0.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	377.7	388.9	394.5	380.0	2.3	0.6
Information	110.8	117.7	119.1	118.0	7.2	6.5
Financial activities	139.7	142.1	142.3	141.3	1.6	1.1
Professional and business services	478.9	504.9	506.9	500.3	21.4	4.5
Education and health services	347.8	361.2	363.4	359.7	11.9	3.4
Leisure and hospitality	263.0	274.9	277.7	270.7	7.7	2.9
Other services	85.7	88.4	88.2	87.8	2.1	2.5
Government	320.8	327.8	326.1	322.3	1.5	0.5
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,244.3	3,323.8	3,324.6	3,276.4	32.1	1.0
Mining, logging, and construction	154.8	163.0	161.5	156.4	1.6	1.0
Manufacturing	54.4	55.2	55.2	53.6	-0.8	-1.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	406.3	413.7	418.6	404.0	-2.3	-0.6
Information	73.8	74.1	74.6	74.5	0.7	0.9
Financial activities	157.3	155.8	155.1	154.6	-2.7	-1.7
Professional and business services	746.5	762.5	764.9	764.7	18.2	2.4
Education and health services	436.0	450.9	449.4	442.0	6.0	1.4
Leisure and hospitality	315.4	332.1	332.9	325.6	10.2	3.2
Other services	206.3	208.9	208.3	206.5	0.2	0.1
Government	693.5	707.6	704.1	694.5	1.0	0.1
(p) preliminary